From Google to FedEx: The Incredible Vanishing Subsidiary

By

Jessica Holzer

Updated May 22, 2013 7:38 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—Some of the biggest U.S. companies, including Google Inc. and FedEx Corp., have quietly removed hundreds of offshore subsidiaries from their publicly disclosed financial filings over the past several years.

Software maker Oracle Corp., for instance, disclosed more than 400 subsidiaries in its 2010 annual report. By 2012 the list had been whittled to eight—five of which were located in Ireland. Oracle declined to...